Interfaces between Chemistry teachers initial education and the STS approach: what do research about the brazilian context say?

Abstract

The STS approach has influenced the development of curricula in several countries, since the beginning of discussions, in the 1970s, considerably expanding its importance in the educational sphere, starting in the 1980s. However, a good part of the effective actions in the school space, regarding the Brazilian context, are still punctual, since they make explicit the STS(E) relationships without, however, systematically developing the objectives related to scientific knowledge, technological planning and problem solving. Thus, recognizing the need for discussions about the CTS(E) approach to enter the spaces of initial teacher training, the aim of this work was to analyze what has been investigated in Brazilian research (theses and dissertations) regarding the STS(E) interface and initial training of Chemistry teachers. Data analysis was done through Content Analysis, resulting in four categories: structure of the Chemistry Degree courses; construction of knowledge related to teaching; conceptions and changes in attitude; teaching, training processes and intervention. From the analysis, it was found that these researches, for the most part, seek to develop intervention proposals in a timely manner, which signals the need to rethink the training process, in order to promote the interrelation between scientific, technological and social, permeating all curricular components. It is understood that a field to be better explored at the interface between such relationships is the construction of teaching knowledge based on STS(E) discussions, so that these results contribute to and direct the implementation of permanent actions in initial teacher training.